The Wildest Super-Hero Ever...Because He's Real!!

I've always loved that heading...

It also crack me up that the cover (Byrne / Austin!) hypes a nothing character like White Tiger while giving Daredevil a small mention on the bottom right of the cover.  Marvel's marketing has since improved.

For those who may not be aware of this "real" superhero, he is based on Montreal stuntman Rick Rojatt. Some of the comic character's back story has been...let's call it "embellished" for dramatic effect, it would seem, as apparently that version of the Fly had more than half of his skeleton replaced with steel following a car accident which killed his wife and kid(s).  I believe he was disfigured as well.  I don't fully recall as I only owned a few issues and I haven't read them in years.

How does that compare to Rojatt's story?  Well...It's hard to say.  Rojatt just seemed to fade away all of a sudden.  The most detailed account of any of his stunts appear to be this one about a motorcycle jump over 27 buses.  Or most of them, anyway.

Why bring this guy up now?  It appears that the character may be headed to the big screen one day.

The Human Fly might be buzzing around a movie theater soon, as a film about the former Marvel Comic character is in development. A Human Fly comic, based on real-life stuntman Joe Ramacieri, was licensed and published by Marvel from 1977-1979. Over its 19-issue run and in various other Marvel comics, the Human Fly had run-ins with Spider-Man and Daredevil, among others in the Marvel stable. Alan Brewer and Steven Goldmann picked up the reverted rights on the property recently. Eisenberg-Fisher Productions, which is based on the Paramount lot, will executive produce the proposed indie, with financing said to be coming from private-equity sources. Goldmann is poised to direct. Brewer, along with James Reach, will produce. Tony Babinski, Cirque Du Soleil’s in-house historian, wrote the Montreal-based screenplay. Goldmann is repped by Michael Lewis & Associates and Anarchy Management. Brewer and Babinski are repped by WME.

Can't help but note the use of a different name for the Human Fly's real-life persona.  However, in the video clip on the film's website, Mr Ramacieri seems to refer to gentleman who wore the Fly suit in the 3rd person, so I think the above release may be incorrect.

Also can't help but notice that Fly states himself that "no one will ever know" who he is so perhaps the mystery surrounding the character even now is intentional.

Edit:  This site's interpretation may clarify things: "And so it is that the Paramount-based indie production shingle Eisenberg-Fisher has picked up the rights to The Human Fly, a short-lived superhero who enjoyed a 19-issue run during the Evel Knievel-spawned daredevil craze of the late '70s, and based its premise on the real-life exploits of stuntman Rick Rojatt—though the film will be based on the real-life exploits of competing Human Fly, Joe Ramacieri."

Or not.  I don't know of any "competing" Human Fly.  It very much seems like they keep confusing Ramacieri's role in this whole production and that Ramacieri was essentially a promoter.